


New Moon's Sister

by melancholycolly



Series: Twilight's Sister [2]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25756045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholycolly/pseuds/melancholycolly
Summary: Addition to the Twilight AU: Twilight's Sister following Colly Swan and her relationship with Jacob Black as she navigates high school and a broken hearted sister.
Relationships: Jacob Black/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Twilight's Sister [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867906
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23
Collections: Twilight FanFiction, Twilight Fanfiction





	1. Chapter 1

It was official. Summer was over.   
I couldn’t help but stare blankly into my salad, repeatedly stabbing the mushy tomatoes as I waited for the lunch bell to ring so I could get the rest of the day over with. School had been in session for a few weeks now and I was already counting the days until winter break. I mean, I had quite a few classes with Jackson since we were both in all the AP classes for juniors, but I couldn’t help but spend all day waiting for that final bell to ring so I could race through the mucky rain up the winding road to the reservation where Jake would be waiting for me in his garage. I smiled at the thought of that. Jake always had a couple soda’s in hand, sometimes out of his school uniform but most of the time he threw the red tie and just unbuttoned the beige button-up shirt, and he’d wrap me in a tight hug the second we were out of Billy’s sight. Ever since that night at prom, we had basically be inseparable. I wondered what he was doing right now… probably in English. No he has English tomorrow he’s probably in Geometry. Was he zoning out thinking of me too? I could practically see him dozing off on his notebook. Embry was probably beside him passing notes, Quil was most likely whispering crude jokes to Embry while Jake tried his best to ignore them. I’d do anything to be ignoring Embry and Quil right now…  
“Earth to Colly?” I shook out of my daydream and realized Reina, a girl I mostly labeled as a friend so it seemed like I had some friends at this school, had been asking me a question and I had completely zones out into my ranch-soaked salad.  
“Sorry, need some caffeine. What did you say?” I cleared my throat and sat up, taking a sip of my water bottle desperately wishing the school was still allowed to serve soda. Reina rolled her eyes, she was always a little snotty to me and I assumed she just sat at our table so she could gossip with Jackson. Her pink-painted lips were frowning angrily at me.  
“Has your dad said anything about that animal that’s been rampaging the state?” She said in a hushed tone. I furrowed my brows in confusion. Being the chief’s daughter typically meant that either no one wanted to talk to you because you might rat on them, or everyone wanted to know deep dark behind the scenes secrets of cases. But typically every time someone deigned to speak to me peppering me with questions about my dad’s work I just hit them with ‘Does your dad tell you everything about his job? I’d love to hear about it.’ and they leave me alone. Sometimes I felt bad but dad didn’t exactly tell his daughter all the gruesome stories of being a police chief unless he was trying to keep me away from drugs or motorcycles.   
“Er- he hasn’t said anything in awhile… why?” I responded. Dad had mentioned an animal attack up in Mason county last spring but there hasn’t been any sign of it since. My mind flickered to dad’s newspaper this morning that he was grumbling at while we ate breakfast together and I wondered if the animal had resurfaced.  
“I bet it’s some mutant bear.” Another boy that frequented our table, Jaimie, snorted as he sipped his tiny carton of chocolate milk. Whenever he said stupid things like that it always made me hate myself for having a crush on him freshman year.   
“My cousin saw the bear when she was hiking.” Dana, another girl in basically all of my classes but I only hung out with because she was just kind of there, added. I couldn’t help but scoff at this. Lots of people in the area have claimed they’ve seen the mysterious animal but I’m betting anyone who’s actually seen the animal hasn’t lived to tell the tale.   
The group continued to chatter about the animal that may or may not be a mutant bear or a rabid Sasquatch or just a really hungry rabbit while I wolfed down the rest of my sandwich and salad and dozed off into my every-day daydream. Most of the time I just thought about what it would be like if Jake were here, listening in on these insane conversations. I always liked thinking he would stick up for me if Reina was on a warpath and being particularly bitchy to me that day, but mostly I knew we would tune them out and just talk to each other.   
The rest of the day droned on as I stared at the mounted wall clock in Mrs. Fernald’s room where I had both English and study-hall back to back, so I spent the entire afternoon sitting in an uncomfortable metal chair trying not to fall asleep as I replayed dreams in my head. I doodled in my notebook as the memory of last May poured into my conscience. Jake’s arms wrapped around me as we slow-danced for what seemed like hours. All of our fighting done, all of our jealousy gone, and all of our pent up hormonal secret feelings for each other finally out in the open. I imagined my face turned bright red every time I thought of that night. Even after months of replaying it like a favorite CD, it never got old.   
~  
I darted out of my last class the second the final bell rung and shielded my eyes from the rain as I practically sprinted to my car. I glanced over and saw Edward Cullen holding open the passenger side door for my sister Bella, he glanced in my direction sending a chill down my spine. Even after all these months of Bella and Edward joined at the hip I still felt uncomfortable being around them. I shook it off and followed the line of traffic out of the school parking lot. In twenty minutes I’d be pulling into the Black’s driveway to spend the afternoon studying, but the cold glare of Edward Cullen kept goosebumps on my arms the entire drive.


	2. Chapter 2

I quickly checked my makeup in my sun visor mirror (slabbing some new lipgloss on and making sure the mist hadn’t messed up much of my mascara) and hurried out of my car. The temperature was rather cool today, I breathed in the Fall air I had missed. The temperature wasn’t too drastic in summer but I missed how… comfortable it felt. Like always being in a blanket.  
I started to make my way towards the front door but before I could get to it the door swung open and swiftly closed behind as Jake toppled out of the house. I felt a flush of emotion over my body and landing on my face as he flashed a wide grin at me. He always looked a little different every time I saw him, taller, bigger. But he was always the same Jake, and his smile never failed to give me whiplash.   
“Hey.” He beamed at me as he walked down the ramp. He hesitated to get close to me as Billy was probably inside watching.  
“Hey. Dad home?” I asked casually walking with him towards his garage as our hands lingered by our sides wanting so desperately to be together again. My freezing fingers always ached for his warm hands.   
“Yep and watching.” Jake said rolling his eyes.  
“Us?” I asked trying not to turn around and see if Billy’s dark eyes were staring out the window. I crossed my arms to get my hand away from temptation.  
“Yeah but he hasn’t said anything so he might just be batty.” Jake laughed and shook his head but glanced back at the house. I brushed it off and figured if anyone had a suspicion they would confront us, and by they I mean the gossip kings: Billy and dad. Jake swiftly closed the rickety door behind us and before I could ask how his day was I felt his arms pulling me back. I swung around and felt his lips pressed against mine as my body relaxed and caved into his. His breath was always sweet, like licorice. His fingers intertwined with mine as I was instantly sent back to last May, standing in the same spot we were for the first time. His hands flooded over me like we hadn’t seen each other in years as our kisses became deeper, aching for more. I shifted uncomfortable with the fact that I desperately wanted more.  
“I missed you.” Jake smiled between kisses. My face felt like it was on fire, as it always did when we were together.   
“Missed you more.” I teased pulling back and clearing my throat (and thoughts). I stared into his deep earthy eyes that always reminded me of fall leaves. They looked a little different, I wondered if he was just tired. I shook it off and walked over to the worn out couch Jake snagged for his garage a couple years ago. I flopped down onto it pulling my bag to my shins, the smell of car grease flooding the air.   
“So, what do you want to do today?” Jake plopped down on the couch next to me. He was still in his school uniform, he had loosened the red and white striped tie so it hung loosely across his chest and his tan shirt was unbuttoned mostly. I was always a little jealous that I had free reign over my school outfits but he somehow always managed to look better.  
“Well there’s homework… and homework… and oh yeah! Homework.” I snickered as I unzipped my backpack to grab my biology notes to start typing up on my laptop but Jake’s animated groan stopped me.  
“What?” I asked cocking my head at him. He had a small smirk on his face as he leaned towards me.  
“Well we could always… ‘do homework’,” He said putting air quotes around ‘do homework’. My heart leapt into my throat and my palms started to sweat as my thoughts started to diverge towards… wanting more. Was Jake really thinking the same as me? Was he wanting to… do it? Right now? On this couch? I mean… I had thought about it before… especially the many times we found ourselves horizontal for hours on this couch…  
I quickly realized he didn’t mean ‘let’s lose our viriginites’ and he just meant ‘let’s makeout on the couch until we realize it’s nighttime and I need to haul ass home’. Like we normally did, but my heart rate had accelerated and wouldn’t slow down to the speed limit.  
“You know we actually have to do homework sometimes right?” I snickered but couldn’t resist as he wrapped his warm arms around me and pulled me closer to him. Could he hear my extreme palpitations?   
“I’ll consider it.” He smiled, his earthy brown eyes sparkling as he leaned in and pressed his sweet lips against mine again. I let go of my backpack and let all of the thoughts pour back into my brain as my heart beat louder. I mean, we’ve been dating for like five months now, four months? It feels like just yesterday we were yelling at each other at prom. Was sex even on his mind? I mean, we’re both teenagers of course it’s on our minds.   
“You okay?” Jake asked pulling away. I realized I had gotten overwhelmed with thinking about the mere possibility of having sex and wasn’t paying any attention to the kissing.  
“Sorry yeah, just been a long day.” I sighed and tried to shake the butterflies away. I was kind of curious now, I mean I’ve been curious, but was he thinking about having sex? Could I just ask him that? I don’t know how these things work. Would I even go through with it or would I panic and run away like last time? Well that was different, that was with Devin. I shuddered at recalling the events that unfolded last spring. I never told Jake what happened, only Embry knew.   
“Really because it looks like something’s on your mind.” Jake gave me that I know you, you can’t fool me look I’ve gotten from him many times. It was true, I hardly ever could keep anything away from him. Maybe I should just ask him… But I didn’t even know how I felt about it, what would I do if he said he wanted to do it ASAP? What would I do if he said he never wanted to do it? Was that even possible? What if he just doesn’t want to do it with me? I opened my mouth to come up with something random to try and avoid talking about it, but before I could answer the garage door swung open. I exhaled in relief as Embry and Quil jostled into the garage and became the distraction I needed. I smiled at the sight of my two friends who I missed every day that I had to go to school without them. Then again I wouldn’t get any work done if we all went to school together. Between being wrapped up with obsessing over will we won’t we with Jake, or snickering with Embry and Quil all day, I’d probably flunk out.   
“Can you two maybe not do that?” Embry snickered as he plopped down on Jake’s work stool and swiveled around the concrete floor. I rolled my eyes at my friend, who had grown probably six inches over this past summer. His shoulders had broadened and his jawline sharpened out, losing the roundness of his boyish face. Quil hadn’t been quite as blessed, he still had the cuteness of a boy (and the immaturity). I wondered if I had changed this summer, but all I felt was completely average compared to Jake, who looked like he should be dating the captain of the cheerleading squad.   
“Well I didn’t realize you’d be here.” Jake shook his head and sighed, giving Embry the normal glare he gave when the boys interrupted our hangout sessions. We thought once they knew we were together that maybe they’d take the hint and not barge in, but they frequently stumbled in on us mid couch-session. Oh god that makes me sound like a porn star.   
“I’m hurt, you should always expect my company.” Embry quipped and fiddled with the parts Jake had laid out on a towel. I could tell Jake was annoyed, but I didn’t mind their company. I was hoping it kept Jake from realizing he was bored of me.   
“Stop messing with those man.” Jake growled as he pushed himself off the couch and pushed Embry off his stool. Embry snickered and quickly replaced Jake’s place on the couch next to me, throwing his arm around me and giving me a squeeze. I tried to ignore Jake’s hot glare on Embry, knowing that Embry was doing everything in his power to annoy him. Quil had plopped himself down in Jake’s project’s front seat and began peppering Jake with questions about his next steps, thankfully distracting him.  
“Do you have to do that?” I whispered to Embry as Jake and Quil chattered on about parts and what not, I still had no idea what a caliber even was let alone anything they were talking about.   
“What? I’m just playing.” Embry snickered and shrugged, knowing full well what he was doing, “If he’s still not over what happened at prom that’s his issue not mine.”  
I rolled my eyes and just gave him that you know what I mean look but he brushed it off. Jake didn’t have any reason to be jealous of Embry, but I thought it was kind of cute that he was. I’ve never had anyone be jealous over me before.   
The four of us hung out and mostly just talked while pretending to actually do homework. Quil had been obsessing over this girl named December, but Embry insisted she way gay, to which Quil grossly took as a challenge. The boys only stayed for a couple hours before taking off for dinner. Embry made sure to make some perverted comment to me before leaving, just to put the icing on the jealousy cake.   
“Do you have to leave?” Jake asked as he reclaimed his spot next to me on the couch. I checked my phone, there were no texts from my dad forcing me to come home for Bella’s birthday (even though she was spending the entire evening at the Cullens), so I took that as good enough.  
“I can stay awhile longer if you want.” I said sliding my phone back in my pocket, I still had a few hours before dad would be a little annoyed.   
“Good.” He beamed and my heart fluttered, it was nice being wanted so bad. Plus his smile was contagious, how could I say no?   
We decided to head inside to see if Billy needed help, who was more than happy that I was staying for dinner. I heated up some brown rice while he sliced some chicken and threw it in a pan, Jake hovered in the kitchen but mostly worked on his homework we were supposed to be doing this afternoon. Billy talked about the council meeting he went to this afternoon with their neighbor’s Harry and Sue Clearwater, I think mostly to Jake but he didn’t really seem to be listening, I never minded listening to Billy yammer though. Our household was typically pretty quiet.  
“And anyway there’s been issues with the sewage but what else is new here.” Billy sighed as he dumped the rice in with the chicken and added some seasonings. “And we’re having issues with trespassers, the usual.”  
“Like hunters?” I asked as I pulled out a few plates from the cabinet. I heard Jake snort and Billy shot him a look.  
“Sort of. Just people from off the land that don’t have permission to be up here.” Billy responded vaguely, I brushed it off and helped bring the plates over to the small wooden kitchen table.  
“Dig in kids.” Billy said as he grabbed his plate and pushed himself into the living room. I chuckled but I wasn’t surprise, I knew there was some sort of game on tonight. Jake flung his homework off the table and immediately started scarfing down the chicken and rice. I watched in amazement as his plate was clean before I even made a dent.  
“Want some of mine?” I chuckled and offered my plate to him, who clearly was still hungry.  
“I will eat whatever you don’t.” He laughed, “I’ve been starving constantly lately.”  
I nodded and made a note to make a batch of muffins or something for the next time I came up. I always felt bad eating here knowing they didn’t really have a lot, but I also felt bad for feeling bad, and Jake never wanted to talk about it. I figured the most I could do was bring a casserole or two over every once in awhile.   
I knew Billy was out of earshot as the game blasted in the background and he made comments to himself like he was a referee so I decided to press Jake a little more, “So what did your dad mean about trespassers?”   
Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head, “I don’t know, the old man is crazy.”  
I laughed, “C’mon Jake you clearly knew what he meant by it.”  
He exhaled sharply and shrugged, “There’s just a certain… type of people that aren’t allowed on the land.”  
I eyed him suspiciously but was wondering if this conversation was going to veer towards the racial disparities and I didn’t press him more, I figured if he wanted to talk about it he would.   
We actually did homework at his kitchen table for about an hour, Billy was snoring loudly from the living room so we didn’t really have to censor ourselves. We talked about possibly going to see a movie this weekend, and I always reassured him that we didn’t have to go anywhere to have a good time but he insisted.  
“Look I made some money off the car I sold last month so I want to take you out on an actual date once and awhile.” He assured me. I rolled my eyes but agreed to it anyway knowing I’ll buy us dinner after or something to make it even.   
I pulled out my phone to make sure dad wasn’t frantically texting me about being home but I still didn’t have anything, I shrugged it off and took it as a blessing. I slid my phone back into my pocket and made sure the ringer was on incase he remembered he had another daughter and needed me home asap.   
“Do you have to go?” Jake asked looking a little worried.  
“No smoke signal yet.” I shrugged and grabbed our dinner plates, walking them over to the kitchen and quickly rinsing them.  
“Cool, do you wanna go for a walk then?” He asked eagerly.  
“Yeah sounds good.” I agreed. Jake quietly peered into the living room but gave me a thumbs up, Billy was sound asleep as the TV blared in the background. We quietly slipped on our shoes and slipped outside, it was a little chilly now that it was darker but the soft mist felt nice. Jake slipped his fingers between mine and I followed him through his backyard to the nearest trail, one we had been walking on hundreds of times. The smell of wet trees and the sound of crunching twigs as we walked was always my favorite. He didn’t let go of my hand as we went further and further into the thickly treed woods. The trees were thick with their summer leaves still holding on even though Fall was coming to take it away.   
“I’m surprised your dad hasn’t busted us yet.” Jake said as we stepped around some loose rocks.  
“Yeah he’s been pretty busy at work recently, a little preoccupied.” I said before stopping dead in my tracks.  
“What’s wrong?” Jake asked, his eyes wide with worry.  
“Shit my dad told me to stay out of the woods, that animal or whatever has been getting closer to town.” I groaned and threw my head back. I couldn’t believe I forgot the one rule he put down.   
“Oh that thing.” He nodded but shook it off quickly, “I promise you we’ll be fine.”  
“I don’t know… my dad seemed pretty worried.” I said getting myself a little worked up, my comfort place now felt like a minefield. I didn’t want to move. I mean dad said it was getting closer to town but would it be all the way up on the Res? Jake was standing in front of me now both his hands wrapped in mine.  
“Don’t worry Colly look, there’s no way that thing is up here. I promise you.” He reassured me, he seemed pretty confident about it. It calmed me down, but now I was suspicious.   
“How do you know though?” I asked widening my eyes at him. He looked away and shifted uncomfortably.  
“I just do.” He said plainly.  
“How.” I pressed on knowing there was more to the story, “How do you know this rabid bear isn’t going to come barreling around those trees?”  
He laughed and shook his head, “It’s not a bear.”  
I opened my mouth in shock, “And how do you know?”  
We stood in silence staring at each other as my heart rate began to settle again and my persistent curiosity took over. He shook his head and laughed to himself.  
“It’s nothing it’s just tribal stuff.”   
“So like, you can’t tell me or you don’t want to tell me?”  
He made a face at me, “I’m not supposed to tell you…”  
“I won’t tell anyone.” I pressed, “C’mon Jake you know me, I spend all my free time with you who am I gonna tell?”  
He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, letting go of mine. He sighed again and then shrugged, turning and looking around. I opened my mouth to ask again but he grabbed my hand and pulled me further down the trail.  
“Are you kidnapping me now?” I joked but he waved me off and continued down the trail, quickly taking a sharp turn and helping me over a fallen tree.   
“Where are we going?” I chuckled nervously as I continued to follow him. After a few minutes he stopped at a river bank and let go of my hand. I was mesmerized by the flowing water crashing around the rocks scattered along the sandy bank. Jake looked uneasy as he perched himself on the driest rock and fiddled with his hands. I leaned against another rock and waited for… whatever was happening to happen.  
“So uhm, you know we have our tribal legends.” He started, shifting around on the rock.  
“Yeah.” I prompted.  
“Well there’s one about our ancestors…” He continued, taking deep sighs between each sentence. I waited for him to continue. “Well apparently, there’s legends that the Quielete tribe descends… from wolves.”  
“Wolves?”  
“Yeah. We still aren’t allowed to hunt them, they’re considered sacred.”  
“Okay…” I prompted again waiting for him to elaborate.  
He chuckled, “Well there are also stories of the… cold ones.”  
“The cold ones?” I asked confused, I wished I could turn the volume down on the river. The sun was setting lower and lower.  
“Yeah… they uhm, they’re the natural enemy of the wolf. The only enemy. Well of our kind of wolf.”  
“And what’s your kind of wolf?” I asked becoming more intrigued.  
“Well I guess you people would call them werewolves. Or shapeshifters.” He responded plainly. I couldn’t help but gulp in surprise.   
“Legends say the cold ones came onto our land long ago, and my great-great-grandfather met a certain clan of them that were… different. They agreed to not hunt on the land, and our tribe agreed to not kill them.” He continued, his voice lowered.  
“So what are these cold ones? What do they hunt?” I rattled off.  
“Well.. you people would call them vampires.”  
I stood back, stunned and confused, “So they hunt people.”  
“Normally yes, but this particular clan didn’t kill people, only animals to survive.”  
“So these… wolves would hunt vampires.” I clarified, slightly in shock. He nodded.  
“Yah that’s what the legends say. And this particular clan isn’t welcome on our land…” He trailed off with a scowl.  
“As in present tense?”  
He sighed, “As in present tense.”  
“Okay I’m sorry. So you’re telling me there are werewolves and vampires just… walking around?” I asked still in shock, hoping I wasn’t coming off as mocking.  
“Look Colly it’s just a stupid story.” He jumped off the rock and shrugged. But I didn’t believe it was just a ‘stupid story’. I wanted to ask more questions but he looked irked. I figured I would bring it up again sometime soon, but I’d leave it alone for now.  
“C’mon, let’s head back.” He said grabbing my hand again with a soft smile. His eyes still looked troubled but I shook it off. Legends were legends for a reason, I didn’t think this was just some stupid story.


	3. Missing

I tossed and turned all night with questions as I replayed the conversation Jake and I had this evening over and over. I was off the hook with Bella’s birthday since she got home from the Cullen’s early and tore off to her room for the rest of the night. I tried to ignore the sour expression on her face and figured she was just sick of celebrating her birthday I bought her a succulent since the only thing I knew about her was she brought a cactus with her from Arizona, she seemed to like it at least.   
The next day at school seemed to last an eternity. I noticed at lunch Bella was sitting with her friend group but her normal pale tumor was no where to be found. The weather wasn’t even nice, normally the weirdos only skip when it’s sunny out so they can enjoy the weather. I couldn’t help but watch her frantically look around the lunch room the entire period. Maybe her boyfriend had just told her about his ancestral legends that imply there are mythical creatures walking among us. I shuddered at the thought.   
I had to resist spending my entire study hall researching Quiluete legends, knowing I would probably get caught by nosy classmates and have to explain what exactly I was doing. Surprisingly, I was able to distract myself by getting all of my homework done in one period. But through every class the questions poured into my head. Who are these cold ones? Are there actually vampires out there? Are they like the cliche movie vampires? If so… they won’t be out during the day. And what about these so-called werewolves? Are they still around? Do they only come out at night as well? Was Jake going to explain more or am I stuck with this small amount of information? Was he just messing with me?   
I drove slowly home zoning out into the foliage that was falling creating a sea of orange. It always reminded me of the first day I came to Forks. It was the middle of October, we had just left the hospital and the social worker was driving me to dad’s house. She, I think her name was Kathy but she insisted I called her Kat, was rattling on about how great it was going to be for me to live in Forks. Something about the rain being annoying at first but I’d get used to it, and the winter’s were magical. But I barely listened. I had never seen leaves like those before. I was mesmerized and temporarily forgot everything that was happening. Then and now.   
I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep on the living room couch until dad jostled me awake, still in his uniform, his eyes wide. I had plopped myself down on the couch and mindlessly flipped through the TV as soon as I got home, trying to take my mind off werewolves and vampires, I guess I had let my unconscious take over.   
“Colly hon, have you seen your sister?” He asked frantically as I tried to figure out if I was dreaming or actually awake. I focused my eyes on the dark living room and realized how late it was.  
“Uhm. No. I haven’t seen her.” I said realizing that I never heard Bella come home. Did I see her leave the parking lot or was I too focused on the leaves?  
“Her trucks here and she left a note saying she was going on a walk with Edward but she’s not answering her cell and it’s getting late.” Dad sighed and ran his hand through his short black hair looking around the room frantically. I slowly sat up and felt like I had been run over by a semi. How long had I been asleep for?  
“I’m gonna take a drive over to the Cullens house, can you try to reach out to her other friends?” Dad said as he headed for the front door. I pulled my phone out and saw it was past eight.

“Uhm yeah I’ll do that.” I said rubbing my eyes. After last spring I knew dad wasn’t putting a lot of faith in Bella, god only knows where she could be. I racked my brain for the last time I saw her… The cafeteria I’d say. Did I see her go to her next class? I mean she must’ve come home if she left that note… Is this really happening again? I let out an exhausted groan that brought me fully back to life, to really understand what was happening. This was happening, again.   
I went through my socials and tried to see if I was friends with any of the people Bella typically hung out with. My face scanned the familiar faces she normally sat with at lunch, I had been at school with most of them since elementary school but they never showed interest in me until the shiny new girl came to school. I scoffed remembering every instance I had witnessed Mike Newton shoot his pathetic shot with Bella and fall flat on his whiny face. I doubt she would reach out to him if she had planned to run away. There was the other girl that spent all day every day glaring at Bella, Lauren Mallory, her face definitely was going to stick as the sour expression she almost always had on. So definitely not her. There’s that chatty Jessica Stanley who barely takes a breath, Bella hung out with her quite a bit last year before she engulfed herself in Cullen. I wasn’t friends with Jessica on my socials, but Angela Webber came up and I quickly shot her a message, she seemed to be the nicest out of all of them. She was basically the only one that talked to me and not just peppered me for dish on my sister.   
I stood up and felt all the blood rush to my head as I stumbled into the kitchen. Sure enough on the counter was a note, scribbled on it only said ‘going for a walk with Edward, be home soon. B’. It didn’t sound like Bella. I knew there was no hope but I quickly dialed Bella’s cell and hoped she would pick up, but I was sent to voice mail. I checked my phone and Angela had responded   
I haven’t heard from Bella since school, sorry. I’ll reach out to others and see if they’ve heard from her.  
I quickly typed out a thank you message and turned my ringer all the way up. I didn’t know what else to do. I dialed Jake’s number and he quickly answered.  
“Hey where’ve you been?” He answered casually.  
“Sorry I passed out on my couch all night. Uhm, I think my sister’s missing.” I responded quickly, my voice sounded scratchy as my extremely dehydrated body yearned for water. My hands were shaking from either low blood sugar or pure panic.  
“What do you mean?” Jake asked calmly. His voice was soothing.  
“I-I don’t know really. Dad came home a few minutes ago and woke me up and asked if I’ve heard from Bella and I hadn’t seen her all afternoon but I mean I’ve been asleep so I don’t know. She left a note saying she was going for a walk but I didn’t even hear her come in. Dad’s going over to the Cullen’s place right now because no one’s answering their phone.” I stammered on becoming more and more panicked as I processed the situation.  
“I’m coming down there.” Jake responded quickly.  
“You don’t have to do that.” I sighed and pressed my sweaty hand against my face. Maggie was still sleeping in the living room, completely unaware. I was jealous.   
“I’ll be there in a few.” Jake said before hanging up. I couldn’t help but feel a little better. I was calm for a moment, standing with the phone receiver pressed against my chest as I tried to calm my breathing. Knowing Jake would be here soon helped me from completely spiraling.   
I spent the next twenty minutes frantically pacing the entire house. I rushed up to Bella’s room after a few moments hoping that maybe dad was oblivious and Bella was sound asleep in her room also napping. But her bed was made and not even her backpack was up here. I sighed and looked around her room that hadn’t changed much since she moved here last winter. Her clothes were scattered around the room, along with dozens of old books, but finger paintings we made as kids still hung by her old wooden desk. I smiled and remembered the day we made them. It was the summer after I first came to live with dad, I had just started getting used to my completely new life when Bella came to visit, both of us were hesitant around each other, like stray cats. But she invited me to paint with her one day, and although we were never really sisterly, I always remembered that big step. Even though we covered the dining table with paint, dad hung our paintings proudly for years.   
I pawed around hoping there would be some indicator for where she went but what was she going to do? Write a letter to herself that detailed where she had run off to this time? I noticed she had the photo album dad had gotten her for her birthday laid on her desk with a few photos slid into the translucent sheets. I smiled at the photo of dad and me sipping our morning coffees, I didn’t realize she took a picture yesterday morning. She had a group photo of her friends stuck on the same page, and on the other side a single picture of her and Edward. I assumed this picture had been taken the night before at her birthday dinner they threw her. Her and Edward were staring intensely at each other, she always looked pretty without even trying. All the boys at school fawned over her before she started dating Edward (and they still do honestly), and all the girls bitterly gossiped about how ‘she’s not even that pretty’. Countless times I heard people snickering that sentiment the weeks after Bella arrived. I couldn’t help but feel jealous too.  
I sighed and sat down on her bed, putting my head in my hands. Did she run off with Edward again? God that would kill dad. Where would they even go? I mean… Bella did just turn eighteen, maybe she was dumb enough to run off and get hitched in Vegas or something like that. That didn’t seem like Bella. I looked over and smiled as I noticed the succulent I bought her sitting on her nightstand next to her small cactus. I felt like I was sitting in a stranger’s room, I barely knew my own sister. How pathetic was that?  
I gave up on Bella’s room and went back to pacing around the kitchen. Angela Webber messaged me saying no one else had heard from Bella but she would keep her phone on and let me know if anything changed. I sighed and thanked her again as I impatiently waited in the living room windowsill waiting for lights to appear in the driveway. It felt like a punch in the gut noticing that Bella’s hunk of rust truck was sitting next to my car. Edward definitely had something to do with this.   
I let Maggie out in the backyard on her extendable leash so she could run around but I didn’t have to worry about her running off into the woods, we didn’t need to worry about a missing dog right now. The house was eerily silent, I hated it. I went into the kitchen and filled a mug with water, I popped it into the microwave and watched it rotate until the water began to bubble. I pulled it out and threw a tea bag in, steeping it slowly. I usually drank tea hoping a placebo effect would take place and my nerves would settle. Sometimes it worked, but all it did was make me feel bad I was sitting around while Bella could potentially be in danger. I chugged two glasses of water as I waited for my tea to steep but I was still shaking. I went back into the living room and stared into the dark void, burning my lips as I sipped the hot tea waiting for something, anything to happen. Minutes felt like hours as I kicked myself for not pressing Bella last night for why she looked upset. Or had she even been upset? Maybe I was just making it up to make her running away seem more plausible.   
I nearly spilt my tea as lights finally pulled into the driveway. I heard Maggie barking from the backyard but I ignored her as I set my tea on the table and ran to the door. It was dad, and unfortunately, only dad. His face had become more flushed than before and he was wide eyed as he bustled up the front steps.  
“No luck?” I asked stepping back as he jostled in and darted for the phone.  
“None of the Cullens were home, the lights were all off, it looks like they’re out of town.” Dad grumbled, “Did you hear anything from her friends?”   
“I messaged Angela Webber and she said she hadn’t heard anything, she reached out to her other friends but said they hadn’t heard anything either.” I said quietly as he began quickly dialing numbers on the phone. I stood as he called his friend Harry Clearwater, it sounded like he was coming down to help look for her. He called a few other people as I went back to the living room and waited. A few moments later a truck pulled in and I ran out to greet Jake and Billy.  
“Hey,” Jake said softly as he gave me his best reassuring smile, “Any update?”  
“Dad went to the Cullens but… they’re not home.” I responded as Billy climbed out of the truck and into his wheelchair, he had a sour look on his face.  
“The Cullens left town.” Billy said plainly and definitively. I shot Jake a look and he looked worried now. Dad came bustling out of the house and thankfully looked a little relieved to see his friend.  
“Hey Charlie, some friends are coming down from the reservation to help form a search party, they know the woods better than anyone around.” Billy said pushing himself over to dad, “We’ll find her.”  
Jake and I lingered behind and he reached out and held my hand, I started to pull away at first but at this moment I didn’t care who saw us.   
“Thanks for coming.” I said taking a deep breath, for the first time since I woke up abruptly an hour ago, my heart had started to settle down.  
“She’ll be okay.” Jake reassured me giving me a small squeeze as he wrapped his arm around me. I sighed and let my body melt into his. He felt warmer than normal, or maybe I was just freezing. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a deep hug.


	4. Found

Soon there were at least a dozen people in our yard. Most people from the station dad worked with showed up immediately and started calling around town. Harry and Sue Clearwater along with their son Seth, who was only about fourteen, showed up as well. Jake and I hovered around the adults calling around town, unsure of what to do. I offered to go out on the familiar trail that I normally took Maggie on but dad refused.   
“God I can’t believe this is happening again.” I groaned as Jake handed me a glass of water. We had relocated inside to get out of the adults way but I felt so useless just sitting around.   
“What do you mean?” Jake asked as he poured himself a glass. He was steady, but his brows were furrowed in worry, his normally soft face hardened.  
“Bella taking off with Edward.” I said taking a sip, I pressed the cool glass to my overheated face. It was almost eleven at night now. Jake sat quietly and scowled at the sound of a Cullen’s name like he always did.   
“I just. She saw how much this hurt dad last year I can’t believe she’s doing it again. I mean, neither of them have even graduated high school where could they possibly take off to?” I yammered between gulps of water. Jake took my glass and refilled it for me. Jake still didn’t say anything but I knew what he was thinking, Bella was gone. Or maybe I was just projecting. Jake was good at letting me ramble on and just absorbing everything.  
“Whatever happens,” Jake sighed coming around and standing next to me, wrapping his fingers between mine, “I’m here for you.”  
I smiled at him, I didn’t know how he did it, but he always managed to make me feel a thousand times better just by being around. Our hands jerked back as we heard shouting outside. I darted outside with Jake right behind me. I turned the corner and nearly fell over in relief. A boy I had seen around on the reservation but couldn’t place his name was carrying Bella in his arms over to dad.   
“I found her in the woods, she doesn’t seem to be hurt, just in shock.” I heard him say as dad scooped her from his arms and turned to carry her into the house. I jumped out of the way and felt Jake stiffen beside me. He was staring at the boy, and the boy was staring back at him with intensity. But then the boy turned and started talking to Billy and Harry who patted him on the back and nodded. I shook it off and ran inside after my dad. One of the town doctors was here, I had seen him when I was younger but I couldn’t remember his name. I guess the pros to being the beloved chief was everyone came running when he needed help. Dad chattered frantically at Dr…. Potts was his name about if she needed to go to the hospital or not. I couldn’t help but stare at my broken sister, laying on the couch completely immobile in her tan parka and jeans. Her brown waves were soaked and matted to her head. All the color had left her body. If it weren’t for the fact that she was muttering something to herself I would think I was looking at a corpse. I shuttered at how… crushed she looked.  
“And I want to speak to Dr. Cullen as soon as possible.” Dad practically hissed as he pressed the back of his hand against Bella’s forehead.  
“The Cullens left town Chief.” Dr. Potts said firmly, it seemed he wasn’t happy about that. Dad whipped his head up and I realized what had happened. The Cullens left town. And they left Bella.


	5. Blur

October

November

December

January


	6. Waking Up

I had just gotten out of the shower and had laid my makeup out to start doing when I heard a soft knock at the door. My hair was soaking and sticking to the sides of my head as I slathered extra-healing lotion all over my face, knowing the harsh winter air was going to crack my already-dry skin the second I stepped outside.  
“Colly, you up?” I heard dad ask from the other side of the door. His voice was quiet, as it had been these past few months.  
“Come in.” I called as I rubbed lotion on my arms, my cracked hands burning at the relief. I had a small space heater plugged in and on full blast on the frigid bathroom floor as the cold winter breeze managed to break through the bathroom window. The weather channel boasted about a snow free weekend but I knew the second I got into my car to drive to Jake’s I was going to be met by Jack Frost. I hated the snow.  
“Hey hon, I have a favor to ask you.” Dad said as he pushed his way into my room, awkwardly hovering in the doorway. He was in his typical Saturday getup, dad jeans and a flannel. I was glad he had stopped working the weekends so often. I think he mostly did it to keep an eye on Bella.   
“Shoot.” I said hovering in the bathroom doorway.  
“Well… Bella’s not doing so great and… I think she really needs a friend.” Dad sighed and gave me a desperate look of sorrow. Things have been… tense to say the least in the household these past few months. I felt like I’ve been walking on eggshells. I’d do all my homework, finish all the chores, make dinner, just to make sure there was nothing for dad to worry about. But I couldn’t fix Bella.  
“Dad I’ve tried.” I commented with exhaustion. This hadn’t been the first time he had asked me to try and cheer up our comatose housemate. But she barely looked me in the eyes let alone wanted to hangout and have girl talk.  
“I know I know but… I’m afraid if I don’t do something now…” He trailed off and rubbed his neck, letting out an exhausted sigh. I felt bad for everything he’s been through with her. I mean… it had been nearly four months since he who shall not be named left but she still barely spoke, barely ate, barely showed any signs of life. It was… haunting to even be in the same room as her.  
I sighed as he continued to give me that desperate expression. After everything dad has done for me… I had a hard time ever saying no to him, “I’ll uhm, I’ll try to… engage.”   
“Thanks hon, I know this has been… hard.” Dad said offering a small smile. He turned to leave but I couldn’t help but ask.  
“Have you… have you thought about… sending her back to her mom?” I asked reluctantly. That thought had crossed my mind too many times these past few months. I thought he’d get mad but he just shrugged.  
“I talked to Bells about it but she… she was very insistent on staying in Forks.” He responded with a look of defeat. I didn’t argue, if she didn’t want to go there wasn’t much he could do. But why on earth would she want to stay if everything reminded her of him? I knew dad didn’t want her to leave but I also knew it killed him to see her as this corpse.  
“I’ll… talk to Bella. I’ll try at least.” I nodded offering as much of a convincing smile as I could. Bella thankfully was at work for the day so I was off the hook for now… but I had to come up with a game plan. What do you say to a depressed girl? I mean… I had been at a very low point in my life last spring. And I’ve had experience in the abandonment field… I sighed and quickly typed out a text to Bella asking if she wanted to go out and get dinner tonight since dad was going back to work. I figured dad would leave us some dinner money and this way we can get out of the house.   
I finished getting ready and bundled myself up preparing to brace the freezing temperatures. I waved to dad and let him know I asked Bella to dinner, and of no surprise he gave me cash to cover the bill, and a little extra I think as a thank you for putting the effort in. I kissed Maggie on the snout and escaped the front door before she could bolt out and jump in the nearest snow pile. As I waited for my car to warm up I felt my phone buzz, it was Bella. She agreed to go to dinner. I couldn’t decide if I was disappointed or excited.


	7. Chapter 7

Jake and I had lucked out, Billy was out visiting a friend for the day, the house was ours. I was dreading having to huddle in front of Jake’s space heater in his garage for the afternoon, but his wood stove in the living room was much preferable. I made myself comfortable on his couch as he made us some coffee and I flipped on the TV, it was rare we had the place to ourselves.   
“Is something wrong? You seem a little distracted.” Jake asked as he plopped down on the couch next to me. He seemed to be burning up but I wasn’t going to question it, my numb body would take any heat it could get. I snuggled closer to him as I sipped my burning hot coffee. I smiled at how keen he was at observing my moods, it was a blessing and a curse but it was better than having an oblivious boyfriend.  
“Well uhm, it’s just Bella.” I sighed. Jake nodded slowly, he knew all about Bella’s… condition. Either from me or from dad complaining to Billy.   
“Is she getting worse?” He asked.  
“She’s not getting better.” I commented with a sigh, “But dad’s bugging me again about sisterly bonding.”  
Jake scoffed at this, “I think it’s a little late for that.”  
“Yeah well. I’m going to dinner with her tonight so we’ll see.” I said trying to hide my bitterness. Jake seemed visibly shocked at this statement.  
“Really? Well… good luck with that. What does he expect?” He commented snidely.   
“A miracle I guess.” I responded. I felt bad for dreading spending time with Bella so much but I had zero confidence in my ability to cheer her up. I mean, I can’t give her what she wants. I’m not… him.   
We sat in silence for a moment as I sipped my coffee, the caffeine was only accelerating my anxiety but the warmth was helping me calm down a little so I kept drinking as Jake flipped through the channels. I asked him how school had been this week and he seemed a little standoffish. He grumbled a few things about bombing a math test but he didn’t really seem to be in the talking mood.  
“Are you okay? You seem a little distracted.” I eventually asked. He looked at me and his eyes were full of… worry, or possibly dread. Either way it didn’t seem good. I sat up and turned more towards him. He seemed to be at a loss for words as he shrugged and folded his hands behind his head.  
“I don’t know… I think I’m just… reading too much into something.” He eventually stammered, keeping his worrisome eyes off in the distance.  
“What do you mean?” I asked curiously. The caffeine was making it hard for me to be patient, but I knew Jake would get it out eventually. He let out a long breath as he tried to form his words.  
“Well… You know Sam Uley?” He began finally looking at me. I racked my brain… the name sounded very familiar…  
“He used to date Harry’s daughter, Leah.” Jake continued finishing my thought process, putting heavy emphasis on ‘used’ making me realize I didn’t know they had broken up. I nodded and waited for him to continue.  
“Anyway. He has this… group of friends. They’re always hanging around the reservation. And Sam keeps saying… weird things to me and staring at me like he’s watching me or something.” Jake explained, his voice dropping like someone would be eavesdropping.  
“Like a stalker?” I asked confused. What would Sam Uley want with Jake?  
“No, it just seems like he’s… waiting for me or something.” Jake said quickly shaking his head, “It’s weird. I don’t know. We would always poke fun at his little… cult. Embry would say they were the reservations mini militia. But…”  
“But…” I prompted after he grew silent again. He hesitated but finally finished.  
“But now Embry has been hanging out with them.”   
I was now even more confused. Now that I thought about it… I hadn’t heard from Embry in awhile. I assumed I would see him soon when I came to hangout with Jake but I guess it had been a few weeks.   
“And skipping school.” Jake continued.  
“Well… have you tried talking to Embry?” I asked now guilting myself for not reaching out to Embry lately. Jake scoffed at this.  
“He won’t talk to me! Or Quil. I guess he’s part of the militia now.” Jake rolled his eyes and had a sourness to his tone.   
“Well I could try to talk to him.” I offered but Jake stopped me.  
“No. That’s probably not a good idea.” He said quickly. I sunk back into the couch trying to digest everything Jake had just told me, but I was still confused.  
“Well have you talked to your dad about it?” I asked. Jake scoffed again and I threw my hands up in defeat.  
“Dad’s less help than anyone, he just keeps telling me not to worry about it and be patient.” Jake scowled. That didn’t sound like Billy… We sat in silence for a moment as I waited to see if he had anything else to add to this weird development. So Jake had a semi-stalker… and Embry was skipping out on school to hangout with the semi-stalker… Was this a cult? Was Embry in danger? Or doing illegal shit? I wanted to bug Jake with more questions but he seemed stressed out talking about it so I sighed and let it go.  
“Well… you know I’m always here.” I finally said. Jake smiled and this seemed to relax him a little. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer to him, pressing his lips against mine. His skin felt like it was on fire.   
“Geez are you hot or something?” I asked pulling back and feeling his forehead, “You’re burning up.”  
Jake shook his head like it was no big deal, “I’m sure I’m just warm from the fire.”  
I didn’t argue with him, he had enough going on.  
~  
I raced home after staying at Jake’s for too long. We were horizontal on the couch for the majority of the afternoon. My mouth was sore from his kisses. Like he was pushing and pushing, growing more…intense. I thought that might have been the day we… you know. But Jake never so much as fully leaned his hips against mine. I was starting to think there was something wrong with me. I mean, we were alone in a house for an entire afternoon. Was he expecting me to initiate? Oh god am I gonna be a virgin forever because I’m not brave enough to make the first move?  
This anxiety-provoking thought session had completely distracted me from the anxiety-provoking dinner, but once I pulled into my driveway and saw Bella sitting in the living room, I had gone back to panicking about dinner. I had no idea what to say to her. Maybe an entire dinner in silence wouldn’t be so bad? I mean… dad wasn’t much of a talker sometimes. I groaned and hit my head on the steering wheel. This was going to be excruciating, but it was for dad.  
I met Bella inside, she had her homework sprawled on the coffee table and the house was completely silent as I barged in and set Maggie off on a barking fit. She gave a small wave as I peeled off my jacket.  
“Hey… Do you still want to?..” I trailed off as I tried to calm Maggie down.   
“Uhm, yeah sure. If you want to.” She responded plainly. She peeled herself off the living room floor and lingered. I was kind of hoping she would come up with some lie about having a stomach ache or a headache and wanting to stay home, but then we would have to reschedule so I guess it’s better to get it over with.   
“Yeah of course. I’m just gonna let Maggie out and we can go.” I said putting on the best smile I could. She nodded slowly and went to go upstairs. I let out a heavy sigh, already exhausted.


End file.
